


An Old Nickname

by goosebxrry



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Watcher!Grian is a big part of this, also xisuma’s so nice in this, but they’re background characters, hes understanding n stuff, hh im sorry idk how to tag, i’ll go back and fix it if i should, so i didnt put them in the main tag, there are other hermits in the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:39:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24686245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goosebxrry/pseuds/goosebxrry
Summary: Grian used to be good at redstone, back before it was so complicated. But now that he’s pushed his past behind him, what happens when an old friend reveals his secret?
Comments: 34
Kudos: 326





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> EchoMelon basically came up with the whole concept, so yeah they’re awesome and full of ideas!! seriously they’re cool

Nobody knew what it was, nor how it appeared in the centre of the shopping district. Nobody but Grian.

He recognized the Evolution symbol instantly, even from the distance he saw it at. It was floating in the air, closer to build limit than the ground— no actual portal, just the frame.

“Is that bedrock?” Scar’s voice pulled him from his swirling thoughts. He was standing just outside the circle that had formed under the structure. Even just seeing it made him feel ill. 

“It looks like it,” Xisuma flew up to check it out. Grian stayed quiet, staring the portal down as if that would make it disappear. The chances of it leading directly to the Watcher Palace were so much higher than it leading somewhere safe like Evo.

He couldn’t do this, not right now. He took a stumbling step backwards directly into Mumbo.

“Whoa! Grian, you alright?” Mumbo put a hand on his shoulder to keep them from toppling over. He turned.

“Y-yeah, sorry, I just have a lot on my mind,” Grian trailed off, pushing past the redstoner and activating his elytra. Mumbo watched him leave with a worried gaze.

He needed to distract himself for the time being, but as soon as night fell he was going to keep watch. If the Watchers came through the portal and had the element of surprise on top of everything...

He didn’t want to think about it.

But right now he needed to be alone.

In his head, he wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice whatever he needed to in order to keep his newfound family safe. But he wasn’t standing in front of Watchers right now, small in comparison. Deep down, Grian knew that he would panic when he saw them. He would freeze.

A voice in his head asked when ‘if’ had become ‘when’, but he ignored it. The portal was there, the only place it could lead was the Watcher Palace. It never had been ‘if.’

Grian pushed the wistful thinking away. He needed to distract himself, so he did the only logical thing; he drowned himself in working on his ever-growing mansion. (When had this build become a coping method? He didn’t really care, as long as it did the job he could deal with it.)

▽

Hours passed. Grian had been working away at the project without a break, only pausing when he did because the sun was beginning to set and he wanted to make sure the portal didn’t light up. He needed to be there, he needed to be sure of it, see it in person— 

However, when he arrived, Bdubs and Keralis were already there, sitting in a small makeshift camp and talking quietly. He should’ve known the other hermits would have been smart enough to set up a system.

Maybe if he flew away quickly enough, they wouldn’t see him...

“Hey Grian!” Bdubs smiled and greeted him as he tried to flap out of a landing. Grian swore under his breath, too quiet to be heard, dropping to the floor and glancing up at the portal.

“You two are keeping watch?” 

“Mhm, Bubbles and I got tonight’s shift. Shishwammy explained it earlier, you weren’t listening?”

Grian felt a small wave of guilt wash over him, but he nodded, making up some excuse about how he was just checking in and flew off to find Xisuma. He could always just ask him about the schedule.

The two men said goodbye as he flew off, headed towards the other jungle to find the admin.

It didn’t take him too long, and the evening breeze was pushing him along. He landed lightly on a platform, looking around for the admin. The area was relatively quiet for a rainforest, he noted.

He peeked in a few doorways and trapdoors, his search going unsuccessfully until he heard a string of muffled curses from behind a wall. He peeked into that doorway, seeing Xisuma standing at his desk. The only light were his translucent screens, illuminating everything in cool blues and reds.

The lettering was galactic, but he vaguely understood it. It was fuzzy, like hearing something in a language you hadn’t spoken in years.

Yet another painful reminder of his days as a Watcher.

“ ‘Suma?” He knocked on the door frame, watching as Xisuma spun around. His helmet was off and his hair disheveled. When he opened the door, Grian saw how absolutely dead tired he looked.

“Don’t tell me to sleep, I’m not going to,” He spoke as soon as Grian opened his mouth. They both laughed, but there was a layer of tension and worry under it.

“I know, I know,” Grian waved his hand lightheartedly, a weary smile on his face. “It’s very difficult, I’ll have you know, but I’ll let you work for once.”

“So, why’d you come over?” Xisuma walked back to his desk, reading down another line of galactic.

“I, uh, I had to leave the meeting before you could explain the schedule. When’s my day to keep watch on the portal?”

Xisuma glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow. Thankfully, he didn’t dig on why Grian had left.

“Tuesday, you’re with Mumbo.” He said. Grian thanked him.

Both of them sat in companionable silence for a few moments, Xisuma reading each and every word on his screen with deliberation. Grian eventually gave his hair a quick ruffling and made his way towards the door.

“Don’t overwork yourself too much, X,” He said as he left.

“I won’t.” Xisuma sent him a smile. 

And Grian got ready to take off. But he hesitated at the doorway. He didn’t want to, but Xisuma deserved— no, needed —to know about the real threat. Grian had more information than anyone.

“Actually, can I talk to you real quick?”

▽

Grian had expected Xisuma to be angry at the information he was being given. Watchers were dangerous, and Grian had lied. But when he got to the end of hisn info dump, eyes already stinging as he imagined how Xisuma might react, he was just pulled into a hug.

“I’m sure that took a lot of courage to talk about,” Xisuma said soothingly. Grian was taken aback, but grateful beyond belief at Xisuma’s acceptance towards him. “I wish you had said something sooner, but I’m glad you trusted me enough to say something at all.”

Truely, Xisuma was an angel.

Grian smiled softly into the cool armour his face was pressed into, his arms tightening around the admin as he relished in the comfort. He hadn’t felt this free in... years. Not since before he left Evo.

“I— thank you,” Grian had wanted to say something more, but that was all he could manage at the moment.

The two of them stayed like that for a minute or so before Grian leaned away.  
“I should get some rest, I guess,” Grian shifted his weight, grabbing a few rockets from his inventory. He smiled at Xisuma before stepping towards the door to leave for real this time. “I’ll see you,”

Xisuma waved goodbye, and Grian was off into the night.

He landed lightly at his doorstep, too exhausted to even change clothing as he dropped onto his bed. It felt good, having the secret off his shoulders. Xisuma might tell the others, but... no, they would understand.

Maybe they’d be angry, but surely they’d come to terms with it.

And Grian let himself fall into the steady void that was sleep.

▽

The next morning came by, and he didn’t even have to wait for the memories of the night before to come back. It wasn’t exactly easy to forget. He took a minute or two to wake up before flying off.

Despite the appearance of the portal, looming over Cub’s quartz shop like the terrifying structure that it was, everyone was trying their best to continue as normal. The mayoral race continued in the background, and Grian had work to do.

He’d done his part of the deal he’d made with Mumbo, and now he was on his way to see Grumbot— Mumbo has said he was finished with the wiring.

He landed on the platform behind the moustache headquarters, stepping onto an end rod. The redstoner did the same on the opposite end.

“I don’t really understand how we both ended up on these end rods,” Mumbo yelled from across the platform, the wind trying to carry away his voice, “But we should do it every time we meet up here.”

Grian laughed. “I agree, these seem important,”

The two of them spoke for a while, excited to begin the process that would eventually end up with Mumbo on the diamond throne. But first, Mumbo needed to explain how it worked.

“So, basically, you have to prime Grumbot, bootload the brain— this is where stuff starts to happen in that big ol’ head of his, flood the mayoral reservoirs, and send in the question!” He pointed at an array of buttons. “It’s very, very, complicated on the inside.”

Grian allowed Mumbo to continue rambling on about the wordy stuff he no longer understood when it came to redstone, trying to understand despite most of it sounding like gibberish to him.

“...Seriously! Very hard to make A.I with redstone. Xelqua would be proud.”

Grian froze at that.

Xelqua was considered a master redstoner back in the early days of Minecraft, creating and discovering the most basic circuits back when redstone was first discovered. He’d created the repeater, and soon his creations were published across many servers.

He was looked up to by all redstoners, known as the person to kicked it all off.

What they didn’t know, was that Xelqua wasn’t his real name. It was something he’d used as a bit of a show name.

No, his real name was Grian.

However, it had been years and years since Grian had understood redstone. The redstone he’d learned with, back in Evolution, was different. It had become complicated quickly and he’d lost touch— the gap had only widened when he was brought to Hermitcraft, where everything was further along.

He’d stopped using the nickname when he arrived in Hermitcraft. Best not to dwell, he figured— he’d found a new interest, he no longer knew redstone the way it worked here.

“...Yeah, I’m sure he would be.” Grian mumbled. At this point, admitting he was Xelqua would do nothing for him. The hermits probably wouldn’t believe him, first of all, and second of all, it would just make the name seem less impressive. He was useless when it came to redstone now.

The two of them continued, Mumbo completely oblivious to Grian’s change of mood.

When the time came, Grian flew off and let himself be completely absorbed by the tedious roofing of his mansion. The following night, he would be standing guard at the portal.

But he didn’t work for very long before a beep from his communicator distracted him. He glanced at it, eyes widening at the single message. It was immediately swept away by a spam of other messages, but he’d already read it.

〈Cubfab135〉The portal activated, can you guys come join us?

Grian jumped off the roof, elytra activating at the very last second, his stomachbrushing the grass. He flew rapidly towards the Cowmercial District, heart throbbing in the back of his throat. He nearly crashed into the ground as he landed.

Xisuma was standing next to a small crowd of hermits, questioning Cub and Scar— they had been the ones watching it for that night.

“We didn’t notice anything weird happen beforehand,” Scar was replying as Grian stepped closer. Xisuma turned to look at him, his helmet off once again. Neither Cub nor Scar nor any of the other hermits double took at Grian.

So, he didn’t mention it yet, Grian thought to himself.

The portal overhead was swirling, the noises it emitted just about reaching their ears. It could’ve easily been mistaken for a nether portal, say it wasn’t on a horizontal axis, but it sounded... different. Grian couldn’t exactly explain it.

A few minutes passed and most of the hermits were there, anxiously waiting for something to happen. Xisuma was telling everyone about the possibility of the Watchers, but to Grian’s almost disbelief, not mentioning that Grian used to be one.

He silently vowed to thank X later.

“Hey, listen! I heard something!”

Wels’ voice pulled Grian from his thoughts. How was he distracted, now of all times? Doc pulled out his trident and False unsheathed her sword from just behind him, and everyone went silent.

It sounded... He recognized it. Someone’s voice.

But it wasn’t a watcher.

Before Grian could say anything, a blue and red blur fell past him and onto the ground. The figure groaned in pain, not even getting to sit up before a trident and at least three swords were at his throat.

“Woah! What the heck?!”

Grian was paralyzed. How was this happening?

“It doesn’t look like what you described, X,” Cleo said, her sword pressing against Taurtis’s chest. “Can they shapeshift?”

Grian, who was completely frozen, finally managed to regain control and push past Doc and Wels.

“Stop! He’s not a watcher!” Grian yelled, grabbing Taurtis’ sleeve and tugging him away from the weapons. Everyone stared at him, and for just a moment Grian was paralyzed again. How did he explain this? He could tell the truth, maybe...

But the attention was changed as Taurtis spoke.

“Xelqua! Oh thank God— what’s happening? Is this Evo? It looks so different!”

Grian was still frozen. Taurtis didn’t know that he stopped using the nickname everyone had gotten comfortable with. He didn’t know that he never told the hermits.

“Taurtis, hold on—“

“This place is spectacular! The mushrooms are a weird touch, though. And the ground! It’s purple!”

Everyone was staring at them, but Taurtis didn’t seem to mind. Of course he wouldn’t, he never had. But Grian did.

“Grian, what’s he talking about?” It might’ve been Mumbo who asked the question. He wasn’t sure. His head was swimming, Taurtis holding onto his arm tighter as False continued to hold out her sword.

“Xelqua?”

“Grian, why’s he calling you that?”

Grian looked up, meeting Mumbo’s crimson eyes. Everyone else had gone silent, just staring at them, the same question likely going through their heads.

He needed to word this carefully.

“It’s his nickname! He mostly used it to publish redstone stuff, but everyone started to use it after while,” Taurtis explained for him. Well, that worked, too. “You’ve probably heard of him, he’s—“

Grian covered his friend’s mouth before he said anything else, panic dripping down his spine. Oh god. This couldn’t possibly have gone any worse.

“It’s just a nickname,” He mumbled, giving a hard glare at Taurtis as he lowered his hand.

“It’s just a nickname?!” That was definitely Mumbo’s voice. “That doesn’t matter! You’re Xelqua! The Xelqua!”

“You don’t know any redstone through,” That sounded like Iskall.

“I mean, it changed when I left Evo—“

“We’re not in Evo?!”

Grian wanted to scream and run away, maybe hide forever. This hadn’t gone how he’d planned at all. Sure, he was happy that it wasn’t the Watchers here, but this was happening too fast, too soon, in front of everyone—

He curled into himself and covered his ears, trying to block it all out. A few seconds passed. Maybe a minute. Taurtis had gone quiet, holding on tight to Grian’s arm with shaky hands.

“Grian?”

He instinctively flinched away from whoever touched his shoulder, but when he looked up he just met Mumbo’s eyes, not upset, not angry. Just kind.

He tried not to focus on that instead of Xisuma in the background, quietly arguing with Doc.

“How about you take Taurtis to your base and you can talk with the rest of us in the morning, yeah?”

Doc’s head shot up in the background, his ears flicking.

“I... sure. Can you come with me?” Grian didn’t trust his voice, and he didn’t trust his flying abilities too much at the moment, either. On top of it all, Taurtis had never flown from the looks of it— he was gingerly running his fingers down the elytra strapped to Grian’s back, brown eyes wide with wonder.

Mumbo smiled softly. Grian took his hand and stood up, pulling Taurtis with him and following Mumbo away from the scene, looking for a less crowded place to take off.

“How do we know we can trust him?” Doc’s voice had the opposite effect of Mumbo’s entire personality at the moment, angry and loud and harsh. Grian didn’t blame him. “He lied to us already, whoever fell through that portal could be dangerous!”

“Grian might’ve lied, but he’s not going to blatantly put us in harm’s way.” Xisuma replied, his voice calm. It had an authoritative tone to it, though. “He wouldn’t do that to us, if Taurtis was dangerous he’d say something.”

“Where are we?” Taurtis whispered. “Who’s the guy in the suit?”

“We’re in Hermitcraft, I’l tell you more about it later. I can take you on a tour or something.” Grian said softly back. “And that’s Mumbo. He’s an old friend of mine.”

“...Oh.” Taurtis was strangely quiet. Maybe it was worry.

The other hermits were crowded around Xisuma, but Iskall chased Mumbo as the three of them snuck away.

“I know X said to give you some space,” He began, “But can I ask something?”

Grian turned around. He didn’t mind Iskall and Mumbo questioning him, he knew them well enough to not be uncomfortable. Taurtis grabbed onto his sleeve a little tighter, though.

Frankly, from just looking at Iskall, he was a little intimidating.

“Sure,” Grian forced his voice to not waver. “Taurtis, this is Iskall, by the way. He’s also a good friend of mine.”

“Hello,” Taurtis smiled, almost forcibly— but when Iskall smiled kindkly, he loosed his grip, holding out a hand to wave. He always trusted people so easily, and it used to worry Grian. But he knew that Taurtis could hold his own if need be.

Iskall greeted him back, his gemstone eye glittering as he turned back to Grian.

“If you’re actually Xelqua, then was the potato on purpose?”

Grian took a moment to understand his question before he burst into laughter, playfully punching Iskall in the arm.

“Oh, that was a year ago!” He snickered. “But no, I genuinely didn’t think that would completely break Sahara.”

Taurtis didn’t exactly know what was going on, but he just smiled. Iskall pat Grian on the shoulder before saying his own goodbyes and walking back to join the rest of the slowly dispersing group.

Taurtis let Grian carry him as the three of them flew towards the jungle.

“I told them you’d talk about... that, tomorrow.” Mumbo said quietly, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the wind. Grian glanced his way.

“That works.” He replied. “What about Taurtis? What happens to him?”

Taurtis looked up upon hearing his name, previously entranced by the stunning views as he clutched onto Grian for dear life. He glanced at the moustached man.

“...I’m not sure. Doc’s pretty set on getting rid of him.”

“Can’t I talk to him? Maybe if I charm him, he’ll change his mind.” Taurtis winked, the suggestion mentioned almost jokingly, as he asked. Mumbo exhaled forcefully, stifling a laugh and Grian rolled his eyes.

The three of them landed a moment later just outside of Scar’s village, stopping outside of Grian’s hobbit hole.

“Xisuma was planning on having a meeting around nine thirty tomorrow, in the shopping district.” Mumbo said as Grian and Taurtis were stepping inside. “I guess I’ll see you two there?”

Grian nodded. “Yeah.”

And Mumbo flew away. Grian closed the door, still feeling almost light-headed as he went over what had happened in his head. Everyone knew his secret, but Taurtis was here. He almost couldn’t believe that.

Taurtis was right here, in Hermitcraft, for real.

“So, what exactly is this place...?”

Grian clicked the lock and turned around with a smilet. 

“Hermitcraft. It’s basically Evo, but without the periodic version changes. There aren’t any watchers.” Grian said, making his way through the house and sitting down. He beckoned for Taurtis to sit next to him. “We call ourselves hermits, all of us came from different worlds and ended up here.”

“So, you can’t leave?”

Grian tensed. He’d been so caught up in everything, he hadn’t even considered the fact that Taurtis might want to go back.

“I...” He thought for a moment. Could you leave? He’d tried for a while, but after a month or so had passed he’d sort of given up and begrudgingly accepted his fate. Not that he regretted that. “I’m not sure.”

Taurtis frowned for a moment, then looked up and smiled softly.

“Well, before I try to go home—“ The words stung Grian ever so slightly, but he made sure not to show it “—I want to stay with you for a while. God, I missed you. It’s really not the same.”

Grian smiled sadly. His time in Evo was slightly blurry, but every memory he had he cherished. The railway, Downtown Evo, the Grian Empire, the Taurtis Republic, the Property Police and the Mafia— He didn’t remember details, but he did remember those. Things at the beginning were almost easier to remember, back before the Watchers started tampering with his head.

“I missed you, too. It felt so wrong, getting used to life here without you.” Grian mumbled. Taurtis had always been a huge part of his life; they did everything together, they even went to school together. He’d always been there until Hermitcraft.

Taurtis pulled him into a hug. “Of course you did, how could you not? I’m very missable.”

Grian chuckled. They sat there, tightly holding onto one another— a feeling Grian had long since resigned to never feeling again. And only one thing was for certain.

If Taurtis wanted to leave, he would do everything in his power to help him. And if Taurtis decided to stay, he would make sure the other hermits welcomed him with open arms.

But for the minute, both of them were tired. Grian set up a spot on the floor for him, next to his bed where Taurtis was sleeping.

“G’night,” Grian mumbled. He could pretend his mind wasn’t wandering to worries of the following morning, but that would be a lie. Taurtis shifted.

“Goodnight,” He mumbled back. Even Grian could head the undertones of worry in his voice. So he wasn’t alone, at least.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay, Taurtis,” Grian assured him. He knew that, even if the other hermits were upset, Xisuma wouldn’t let them hurt Taurtis. He knew what Taurtis meant to Grian, he wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

“...Yeah. Probably.” A pause. “So, I’m guessing you don’t go by Xelqua anymore?”

“...No, not really. You can call me that if you’d prefer, though.” He figured it didn’t really change much now that everyone already knew about it. Making Taurtis relearn his actual name just seemed like a waste of energy.

“Alright,” Taurtis said. “Goodnight... Xel.”

Grian smiled to himself as he echoed it back, burying himself deeper into the pillow and drifting asleep.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doc still doesn’t trust Taurtis, and this time things escalate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two! tw for mild gore (i dont think its too bad tbh, but better safe than sorry y’know?)

The next morning came in what felt like seconds, and Grian opened his eyes. He still felt so unbelievably tired, the day before looming over him like an enderman— sure, an enderman. He couldn’t exactly bring himself to think ‘Watcher’.

Maybe he was being paranoid, but the idea of Taurtis accidentally bringing the Watchers with him was a terrifying thought. And worst of all, not entirely impossible.

Improbable, but not impossible.

He turned, blinking a few times to clear his vision. Taurtis was still sound asleep, snoring quietly from where he was wrapped up in the covers.

Grian stood up quietly, careful to not wake him as he made his way to his makeshift kitchen. An apple would do for breakfast.

“Grian?” He turned around upon hearing Taurtis, peeking back around the corner.

“Yeah?”

“Oh, good, you’re still here. Wow, I had the craziest dream,” He mumbled the phrase, but Grian could just about hear it. He frowned a little.

“Did you?” Grian took a bite of his apple, searching for his sweater amongst the mess that was his house. He wasn’t very organized, as one might’ve been able to guess— he just never took the time. He wanted to be, sure, but he never was.

Sam had kept him on his feet.

But Sam wasn’t around anymore to make him keep neat and tidy, he reminded himself. The only con he could possibly think of when it came to pros and cons of not having the bunny-eared man around.

“Yeah! You were in it.”

All in all, Sam was horrible and Grian was glad he was gone. Fuzzy memories of a life long since left behind, one in some mystical land— one where Sam was there, and one that he’d purposely blocked out.

He didn’t ever want to hear himself referred to as a mage again, even if the times he was were years ago, even before Evo.

“Was it about some place called Hermitcraft, by any chance?” He aggressively pushed the thought away and continued to talk with Taurtis, smiling softly as Taurtis seemed to double take.

He nodded with narrowed eyes at Grian, continuing. “Did we share a dream? That’s weird.” He shifted, pulling off the covers and swinging his legs so he was in a sitting position, his feet hanging just above the floor.

“Yeah, it wasn’t a dream.” Grian said. “Want some breakfast?”

“...Oh.” Taurtis faltered, blinking a few times before shaking his head. When he looked back at Grian, he seemed to be back to his usual self. “Sure, what do you have?”

“Well, I have some fruit, some bread, meat— although, I doubt you want mutton for breakfast, —vegetables, and that’s about it.” Grian ducked back around the corner to check the cabinets and barrels. “I could make you some toast,”

“I’ll just have bread or something, that sounds good,” He called from  
around the corner. And some bread he received.

“So, now that you’re up,” Grian sat down next to him. “What do you feel like doing? We still have around two hours before we need to meet the rest of the hermits.”

Taurtis tore a piece of his slice off with his teeth, shrugging.

“Didn’t you mention you’d show me around?” He asked. “I remember you saying that. Unless that was the dream.”

Grian chuckled. “I believe that was real life,” He said as he finished his apple and got up to throw away the core. Taurtis stood, grabbing his headphones from the foot of the bed and putting them around his neck.

Part of Grian wondered if they even worked in this server.

The pair of them stepped outside a moment later, warm sunlight filtering through the leaves into the clearing outside of Grian’s hobbit hole. It still felt surreal to Grian, the feeling of standing in the sunlight next to his old friend— he was expecting to wake up any second, torn away from the perfect delusion.

But he didn’t. Instead he came to the realization that Taurtis hadn’t used an elytra before.

“Oh. That could be a bit of a setback,” he mumbled to himself. He could probably give Taurtis piggy-back rides the entire morning, he definitely was strong enough, but that sounded tiring.

“What could be a setback?”

“You— Have you ever used an elytra?” Grian spread the lavender-grey appendages, the sunlight catching them and making them shimmet. Same material as a ladybug’s wings, he was pretty sure.

“Nope.”

Grian sighed. He knew it would take too long to learn in one morning, so he resigned himself to the previous option. He crouched so Taurtis could climb onto his back.

▽

It turns out it wasn’t actually too difficult, Taurtis was rather light. He landed on Iskall’s partially-built mega tree for a better view.

“So, that’s Scar’s base, the skull belongs to Stress, Mumbo’s base is over there,” Grian started pointing the places out, still overwhelmed with how amazing everyone’s builds looked. He hadn’t gone out with the sheer purpose of enjoying the view for quite a while. “And, if you look behind us, the best of all— my mansion!”

Taurtis audibly gasped at that.

“You build that? That’s—“ He cut himself off with a cough. “Almost as good as the Taurtis Republic. Not quite as spectacular, but it’s a close second.”

Grian laughed, fixing his footing on the thick branch they’d landed on.

He was aware of the time slowly ticking by as they continued, touring more hermits’ bases. Once they got as far as Keralis they had to stop in order to get to the mooshroom island on time.

“We can continue this later, if you’d like.” Grian adjusted his grip on Taurtis’s legs, unfolding his wings around him as he took off over the sea.

“Sounds good to me,” Taurtis said over the wind. “Everything’s so different here, it’s amazing.”

Grian silently agreed with a nod, hesitant to open his mouth and while flying this fast and so close to the water. Lots of bugs at that level, and he didn’t exactly fancy second breakfast.

It had happened once before, so he spoke with experience when he said it was less than enjoyable. Ren still laughed about it to this day

A few minutes of smooth flight passed before they arrived, landing gracefully on the mycelium. A few people were gathered by the once again deactivated portal, Doc included. Grian felt his stomach sink at the sight.

It wasn’t even that he hated Doc. In fact, Doc was a relatively nice guy when you got to know him— but he was stubborn, and when it came to his friends, he’d do anything to protect them.

Even if there wasn’t an actual threat.

“Howdy Grian, Taurtis. Glad to see you two could make it to our fine meeting on this lovely morning.” Joe saw and greeted them first, holding out a hand for Taurtis. Taurtis blinked at him before taking it. “I don’t believe we’ve officially been acquainted. I’m Joe Hills.”

“I’m Taurtis,” Taurtis replied, cringing as he realized Joe already knew his name. He was supposed to be making good first impressions, he reminded himself.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to properly meet you, Taurtis.” Joe smiled at him warmly and he forgot all about it. It didn’t seem like Joe had minded at all, if he’d even noticed.

A few minutes passed and a couple of other hermits arrived. When Xisuma landed, it was Joe, Mumbo, Doc, False, and Xisuma— not including Grian and Taurtis.

“Is this it?” Grian stepped towards Xisuma, his voice quiet. Saying he was nervous was a bit of an understatement, especially with Doc staring him down like he was. His organic eye was slightly narrowed, his mechanical eye looked just as threatening.

It wasn’t entirely a new experience to be glared at like that, but it hadn’t been directed at Grian since the civil war.

“Yeah. I didn’t want to overcrowd you,” Xisuma replied. He smiled reassuringly at Grian through the helmet, then passed him and cleared his throat.

“So, I’m sure you all know what’s going on,” He said.

Grian never understood how Xisuma had gotten so unreasonably good at being in charge. He had that certain air of authority, of confidence, of trust— everything that made someone a good leader. Grian often reflected on how lucky he was to have landed in this server and this family.

The answer was extremely. He was blessed. After everything he’d gone through, after the previous people he’d been around, Xisumavoid was probably the best person he could have wished for.

“Yeah, I’m well aware. I’m wondering why he’s—“ Doc pointed accusingly at Taurtis. “—still here and not blacklisted from the server already.” He growled. Xisuma turned, his demeanor just as calm as before.

Taurtis, meanwhile, inched a little closer to Grian. Standing next to False was definitely giving Grian a sense of security, even if he knew Doc would never attack either Taurtis nor him.

He might be angry, but he wasn’t going to stoop that low.

Surely.

“Taurtis has done nothing to generate a presumption that he has malicious intentions, Doc.” Joe said, his voice just as calm as Xisuma’s. “If you have any evidence that he’s here to misconduct, I’m sure all of us gathered here would be glad to hear you out.”

Doc flattened his ears against his head, angrily averting his eye to the floor. Grian swore he heard him hissing and his skin turning lighter for just a moment, but he hoped it was just his imagination..

Xisuma turned back to the rest of the group.

“Thank you, Joe. And, although Doc has a point to his argument—“ Taurtis’ gaze hardened a little at that. “—everyone in his community would like to give you a warm welcome. We might not know much about you not where you’re from, but we’re giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

Grian smiled. He knew the topic would change in a minute, but he didn’t have to think about that yet.

“I— Thank you,” Taurtis‘ voice was quiet and cautious, but the gratitude was obvious.

“If you decide to stay, you’ll be part of this family, no questions asked. And if you’d prefer to go back to where you’re from, I’ll work on reopening that portal first thing after the meeting.” He paused. “You don’t have to decide just yet. In the meantime,”

Grian felt a few eyes look at him.

“Yeah, I figured you guys would be curious,” He mumbled.

“Of course we are, Gri! You’re a redstone genius! did you teach yourself? Was it a different system?” Mumbo immediately jumped into the pause of conversation, raining him in questions.

“I mean, I had some extra time, I just sort of experimented with it.” Grian replied sheepishly before answering his other question with a yes.

It was surprising him how strange it felt, being addressed as a redstone genius by Mumbo, being thought of like this. It was strangely enjoyable, too.

“How come you didn’t tell us?” False asked, genuine curiosity in her voice. Grian hesitated to reply.

“I... I don’t know. I guess I was worried about how you guys would take it, or something.” He looked down. Taurtis had left his side to quietly talk to Xisuma on the side, and he silently— almost selfishly —hoped he wasn’t planning on going back to Evo.

What even happened in Evo anymore? Did the Watchers still hover over them, playing God and using them to execute their little games? Was it just a normal server now? He pushed the thought away to continue.

“I mean, I can’t do redstone anymore; it’s just so different. I guess I thought you would all be disappointed.”

“Oh, Grian, we wouldn’t have thought less of you. What you learned was impressive, whether you can still do it or not.” Mumbo said. False nodded in agreement.

“It’s not whether or not you can still do something that matters, it’s the fact that you ever could that does.” Joe added, placing a hand on his shoulder. “And, allow me to assure you, you did amazing things.”

Grian smiled at his friends, looking downwards.

Even if he felt like he didn’t deserve all this after being a Watcher and all, he blocked the thought out. He could cherish the contentment for just two minutes.

Just as he was about to glance back at Taurtis, he heard him walking back. He turned, seeing him and Xisuma returning to the group.

He did not, however, see Doc anywhere.

“Did you make up your mind?” False asked before he could mention it. It was probably nothing, he was upset and didn’t want to be around for this. Grian understood.

“I did!” Taurtis smiled, looking at Grian. “I’m... I’m staying. For the foreseeable future, at least.”

Quicker than you could imagine, Grian had launched himself onto his friend and clutched on, squeezing so tightly Taurtis worried he might suffocate.

“Ouch! Ouch, Xel,” Taurtis laughed as he took a stumbling step backwards, desperately trying to get a better grip on his friend or get him off. Grian finally uncoiled himself, planting his feet back on the floor. He didn’t unwrap his arms until a moment after.

“I’m—“ Grian gave a watery chuckle, running a hand through his already wind-tousled hair. “I don’t even know what to say,” Taurtis smiled brightly as he fixed his shirt.

“Just so you know, I’m not joining whatever equivalent you have of The Grian Empire.” Taurtis said. Grian snickered.

“Don’t worry, there is none. Not yet,”

Both of them laughed again, completely overcome with joy. Taurtis was sure he’d made the right choice.

The small crowd talked amongst themselves for a while longer, only briefly mentioning Doc’s disappearance. “Oh, he’s probably just angry. He’ll get over it, I’m sure.” Said Xisuma, in response to Taurtis mentioninh how scary he looked. “He’s not usually like this. He’s normally nice.”

And after half an hour, the crowd began to disperse. They all had their own projects to work on, after all.

“Maybe you and I can work on some project together later on,” Mumbo had suggested. “Y’know, put our heads together.” It sounded fun to Grian— maybe he could even learn some of the newer stuff. He said he definitely would in the future.

▽

Grian and Taurtis took the nether portals to get back instead of flying.

“It’s on the roof, so it’s very safe.” Grian assured him. Taurtis wasn’t surprised that they’d somehow broken the laws of the world they lived in again.

All the shenanigans from The Button were around, still escalating. That took quite a bit of explaining. Half of Grian expected to see Doc in his throne, sitting and guarding The Button with his very existence.

But it was strangely empty. That only made the strange feeling of being watched worse— best case scenario, it was a pigman from the gold farm, looking through the gaps in the wall at them.

They were almost back to the jungle. Even on the roof, it was incredibly warm, and they were both growing almost delirious from the long walk in the blistering heat.

And then suddenly there was a shout and a thud, followed by the sound of a trident hitting bedrock. Then a scream. Taurtis was missing from Grian’s side.

“Taurtis!” Grian unsheathed his sword, hitting Doc’s mechanical arm in a panicked attempt to make him stop. He paused for just a second out of surprise, sparks flickering, and in that second Taurtis wriggled himself free.

And he was off. He started running, grabbing Grian’s arm and tugging him along. And, oh boy, if that didn’t bring back memories.

But the chase didn’t last long— Doc threw his trident and hit Taurtis’ leg, causing both of them to fall. Grian hit the floor hard, his hands and knees scraping the jagged and sharp bedrock, stinging pain running through his wrists.

“You’re putting us in danger, Grian,” Doc snarled as he stepped closer. Taurtis tried to sit up, wincing and swearing under his breath as he fell again.

They would just respawn in Grian’s house, they’d both slept there. The scars would still be there, but they’d respawn.

Grian tried to relax himself. It hurt more if you were tense.

But he didn’t feel the bitter sting of prismarine shards in his back. Instead he felt a breeze brush past them and heard Doc grunt, the sound following the telltale sound of a body being thrown to the ground. He opened his eyes.

Xisuma must have seen what was happening from afar and intercepted, shoving his sword between them and effectively blocking Doc’s trident. He hooked it and managed to redirect it to the floor, kicking Doc and knocking him down.

Surprise was on his side, and Doc was vulnerable.

“Doc, this is unacceptable. Drop your weapon, now.” His tone left no room for negotiation, voice hard and dripping with venom. Doc hesitated, not breaking the eye contact as he reluctantly dropped his trident. It clattered away as Xisuma used his sword to move it.

“Grian, Taurtis, are you two alright?” He didn’t turn, keeping his gaze locked on Doc as he asked the question.

“I’ll be okay,” Grian mumbled. He glanced at his hands, seeing where they’d scraped against the rough bedrock floor. Blood was welling on the scratches. His sweater was a little tattered and his jeans were now ripped at his knees, but he wasn’t too badly injured himself.

Taurtis answered the same, though his pant leg was slowly turning crimson. Grian doubted the truthfulness in his reply.

“Good. Can you both walk?”

“I can help you, if you need it,” Grian whispered to Taurtis. He nodded slowly, staring at Doc from where he sat, eyes flicking back and forth between him and the trident. Grian raised his voice a little. “We can get back to my base, if that’s what you mean.”

“I do. You two go back, I can deal with this.” He said. “Grian, you have regeneration potions at your base, right?”Z 

He knew he had them, but a better question was if he could find them. They were probably in some chest monster. But there was also a good chance of them being in a valuables chest, so he said yes.

“Great. How about you two start heading back, I’ll be by shortly.”

Grian winced as he stood, offering Taurtis a hand and continuing to follow the carpet path as best he could. They didn’t talk, they didn’t even look at anything other than the portal they were hurrying to get to.

As Grian and Taurtis stepped in, they could hear Xisuma raising his voice over the loud nether portal noises. Soon enough the portal drowned their senses and, when said senses were returned, they were at Scar’s portal.

He really needed to make his own at some point.

▽

It took Grian a little longer to find the potion than he would have liked, but once he looked through the right chest he grabbed it and gave it to Taurtis. He quickly drank about half of it, exhaling quietly in relief as the pain washed away.

“I’m...” Grian wasn’t even sure how to start as he stopped wrapping up his hands in gauze. I’m sorry I almost let my friend kill you? ...Was Doc even still his friend anymore? “...I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Grian,” Taurtis forced a smile as he swallowed hard. “Maybe I should just go back to Evo instead, I don’t want to—“

“Wait! I’ll make sure nothing else happens between you two, Taurtis.” Grian looked up, eyebrows furrowing together in worry. He wasn’t ready to loose him yet, not over something like this. Not over someone else. “I’ll make sure you feel safe, maybe I can ask Xisuma to tell Doc not to come near you at all or else he... he, I don’t know. Gets in trouble.”

Taurtis seemed to be thinking it over.

“...Alright. If it happens again I’ll reconsider, though.” Taurtis’ voice was noticeably more quiet and serious. It must’ve taken its toll on him, too. “I should probably get some rest so my leg can heal, maybe you should, too.”

Grian said he’d rest in a minute, he just wanted to do one last thing. He hadn’t had any serious injuries, and most of it was shock, so he wasn’t in a position where he needed to rest right at that very second. He pulled out his communicator and scrolled down to Xisuma’s name.

〈Grian whispers to Xisuma〉Hey, I don’t know your solution, but if you could warn Doc not to come near Taurtis again for me that would be helpful.

A pause. It said Xisuma was replying.

〈Xisuma whispers to Grian〉Of course. Do you neef any help? I can come over in a minute if you want me to.

Grian replied saying no, he and Taurtis would be alright, they just needed to rest. He said goodbye and put it away again, looking out of the doorway to see the sun just passing the directly overhead mark.

This was going to be a long day.

He wasn’t very tired, so he sat down and picked up a book. One of the only good things that came from him being a Watcher was his ability to read Standard Galactic— Keralis’ bookstore had become a library. Some of the books were very interesting, too— it was a shame they were only used to enchant tools and armour.

But he eventually closed the book and leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily. Why was he so tired? He hadn’t been getting unreasonable amounts of sleep— but maybe it was stress.

Grian walked over to his makeshift bed, taking off his elytra and armour as he curled up on top of the blankets. He wouldn’t actually go to sleep for the night, he might just get in a little extra rest.

Maybe an hour, maybe less. Then he could get to work on his mansion once again.

So he let himself drift to sleep, trying not to think too hard about Doc. About how he’d been betrayed, to put it frankly. And soon sleep dragged him into dark nothingness— no dreams, no nightmares. Just darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a while, i’ll probably get to the next part pretty soon. it’s a bit less packed with action and all, but it’s leading up to something big (insert looking eyes emoji here)


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Portals are appearing, and now things have gotten serious once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so its getting obv that this is inspired by ATUS by aayaptre and thats only rlly starting this chapter but i though i’d say it bc that fic is amazing anyway.
> 
> also! i’m not dead lol. this chapter took longer than i’d like and its shorter, but hey its out now  
> so. yeah. next chapter will hopefully come a little  
> sooner.

Three days had passed.

Xisuma had told Doc not to bother Grian or Taurtis, and he hadn’t done anything since. He didn’t trust Taurtis, sure, but even he realized he might have gone a little too far. Very much too far.

He’d just been so angry at the time— nobody was listening to him, he didn’t have proof so nobody believed him when he said something felt different, something was wrong, there was danger. Maybe it was his creeper side being hyper-sensitive to something new!

Or maybe it was just him being paranoid.

But nonetheless, he was incredibly suspicious. Taurtis’s arrival had triggered something, he was sure— he could feel it. It was ways there, warning him to look out in every situation.

He could be in his bed, comfortable and safe, when suddenly his brain would scream danger and he would hiss and light up, fresh panic running through his veins. He couldn’t actually explode, but the defensive procedure was still being triggered by... by something.

So, obviously, his first instinct was that this new, strange, and seemingly hostile presence, was Taurtis.

Of course, with the brown-haired man being all nice and innocent and sweet, the theory was seeming more and more ridiculous. After he went as far as to attack him and still gained nothing? He looked and felt insane.

And horrible.

He couldn’t believe himself. If he’d been reasonable, if he’d just spoken to someone like a decent human being, maybe the other hermits would believe him. But now he was on his own, and no-one was to blame but himself.

So, as of recent, he’d been ignoring the tug at the back of his mind, shrieking that something was horribly horribly wrong. He pushed it down, pretending it didn’t exist, for now the only conscious worry he had was that the only monster around was... him.

But when he woke up on the third morning, the pull was stronger than ever— and he could hear something. Even from his bedroom, he could hear the sound of something loud and irritating. Just quiet enough that it wasn’t overwhelming, but still upsetting. A portal?

He stretched, standing up and quickly getting dressed, doing his best to ignore the quiet whispering coming from through a wall. Or rather, Doc realized as he looked outside, through a lack thereof.

Right in the middle of Bdubs’ fence, a portal had appeared. Obsidian and bedrock. Just like the portal in the shopping district (except this one was standing up correctly). Doc quickly walked down the staircase, grabbing his trident from a tripwire hook on the wall and making his way over to investigate.

It was similar to a normal portal as far as sounds and colour went, but something was unmistakably wrong. Unmistakably different and bad and hostile, just like the worry he’d been dealing with this entire time. Since Taurtis arrived.

But now, upon seeing the second portal, he realized that maybe it wasn’t Taurtis.

He’d been feeling this since the first portal’s arrival, hadn’t he?

He poked the warped portal entrance with the spikes of his trident, the trident he’d used to wrongfully hurt a most likely innocent person, watching it disappear through the purple mist. Dried blood still stained the hard to reach parts of the shards.

Nothing happened. Had he really been expecting a reaction just from that? It was too early for this.

In all honesty, he should have left immediately to get help. But he wanted to investigate, just see for himself what was there— maybe it was dumb, but he wanted to know it wasn’t a prank of some sort.

Somehow. Not many pranks involve bedrock, and he doubted anyone would be insensitive enough to joke about the already worrying problem.

So he hesitantly poked an arm through. It wasn’t a nether portal, the usual wave of heat wasn’t there— it was cool. Frosty, almost. He retracted his arm and instead grabbed the frame with an iron grip and poked his head in.

And it was absolutely breathtaking.

A castle of obsidian and bedrock, thousands upon thousands of blocks tall with intricate pillars and stained glass windows like ones you would find in a church— beautiful and delicate.

It seemed to eventually melt into the void. He could’ve stayed there for ages, just taking it in, if the sudden opening of a gate didn’t pull him from his thoughts as he realized something new in the last frantic moments before he escaped.

In a small circle, his own a few from the farthest left, were more portals. Different sizes, each labelled in Standard Galactic on small signs he couldn’t read. He immediately leaned away upon seeing a silhouette near the entrance to the tower, attaching his elytra to his back once again and taking off in a flurry of rockets.

Who did he go to with this new information?

Grian and Taurtis? Xisuma? He couldn’t exactly go near Grian nor Taurtis at the moment, so Xisuma seemed like the best option. How many portals was that? At least seven, at most nine.

And all so close. They had to lead to other hermits’ bases.

He rushed towards the jungle, completely forgetting about his communicator— the easiest and quickest way to warn everyone. It didn’t take him long to arrive, but he was a bit too late.

The portal was open, and now they knew it worked. And it was left completely unsupervised.

▽

“So, I ought to get going. This all you need?” Grian dropped a shulker box of supplies for Taurtis as he adjusted his wings, getting ready to fly away. Taurtis was finally starting his base, and his plans were big.

Maybe a little too big for only just having arrived. Grian could spare some materials, though.

“Yep, looks good to me. Thanks again, Xel,” Taurtis smiled as he picked it up, his wings twitching. He’d been getting used to his elytra and, in Grian’s unbiased opinion, it looked natural on him.

“Of course, always here to help.” Grian returned the smile warmly before dropping backwards off the cliffside.

Taurtis waved as Grian took off, taking to the skies. The wind caught under his elytra and let him fly faster, picking up speed without even needing to waste rockets. He truely wasn’t ever happier than when he was in the air.

Taurtis had settled near the ocean, but not too far away— they could still visit one another frequently without it being too much of a hassle. He hadn’t wanted to be too far away, in case Doc or any of the other hermits did anything irrational, but nothing had happened since the first incident. Hopefully it would stay that way.

But he wasn’t going to focus too hard on that, he’d made plans to work on redstone with Mumbo.

The outcome probably wouldn’t be too successful, but it had always sounded fun ever since the redstoner had suggested the idea.

The flight over only took about ten minutes.

Grian landed on a ledge of Mumbo’s base, letting himself fall again and glide downwards in lazy circles as he searched for his moustached friend. The base itself was, to put it frankly, amazing. And it definitely wasn’t finished— Grian couldn’t wait to see the finished result.

“Mumbo?” He was surprised to not see him around. He usual stayed in the open if he knew someone was on their way to meet him.

He was about to start worrying when Mumbo burst out of his storage room.

“Grian! Sorry, time slipped away from me,” He laughed nervously. Grian only smiled. It might’ve been annoying sometimes when everyone was waiting on only one person to start a meeting, but when it was just the two of them Grian found Mumbo’s sense of time— or lack, thereof —rather endearing.

“It’s alright, Mumbo,” He walked over and dropped his shulker box. “So, what’re we going to make?”

▽

Maybe two, three hours passed of both Grian and Mumbo struggling endlessly. Grian’s contraptions were complicated and evidently well thought out, but when he powered them they just went up in sparks and smoke. Mumbo even recognized a few.

“Hey, I used that circuit in my piston doors way back when,” He commented after another failed attempt. Grian couldn’t help but smile.

In total, only one of Grian’s contraptions worked— and it didn’t work correctly, it just made an overly complicated redstone clock. Both of them laughed.

But something was distracting Grian the entire time.

“Hey, Mumbo, is your nether portal always this loud? Did you move it?” He asked, leaning back on his elbows as the redstone circuit continued flashing. Mumbo glanced at him.

“No?”

He frowned. Maybe he just hadn’t been around Mumbo’s base for long enough to notice.

“Oh.”

The two of them sat in silence for a few more moments, listening. The portal whispered again in their ears.

“It is unusually loud, though. What’s up with that?” Mumbo stood up, unhooking the redstone to remove the soft clicking and looking around. His portal was all the way across the clearing, it shouldn’t have been loud enough  
to hear.

The two of them paused their experimentation to search for the portal in question.

It took nearly five minutes before Grian realized it had to be underground, and they both dug downwards. Suddenly they were falling into a dark cavern, signs posted along the walls and a soft magenta glow coming from a lit portal.

Another Evo portal.

He’d done this once before. It was slightly different, but he’d done this before— had Taurtis been there? He remembered it vaguely.

“...Oh.” Mumbo spoke first, both of them at a loss for words. The signs were straight verticle lines, etched into rather than written on the signs. They formed some kind of pattern, but Grian wasn’t sure what.

Again, this felt uncomfortably familiar.

“We should tell Xisuma,” Grian mumbled, his mind going numb. There might only be the one, he reminded himself. It could just be here.

But something told him there were more, and that the danger of before had returned. It would be irrational to only leave one, hidden under a base at that. Completely cut off from all sunlight.

No, this wasn’t a portal for them to find. This was a portal that was meant to stay hidden. Surely.

But before Mumbo could send a message to the admin, Grian watched in horror as an inky hand— possibly a hand —reached out towards his friend’s ankle, fingers stretching hungrily towards the pant cuffs.

He jumped at Mumbo, throwing them both to the floor and out of the way. The appendage recoiled, to his great gratefulness, and disappeared. But he recognized that kind of ‘flesh’, that kind of hand.

And memories were flooding in.

He’d repressed them for the most part, but seeing that? That broke the dam. In both a mental and literal sense.

He scrubbed at his face, biting his lip hard but to no prevail; tears spilled anyway. He felt Mumbo rubbing his back comfortingly, not even asking any questions. Grian was eternally grateful for that.

But he wasn’t ready to leave yet, he didn’t want the Watchers here, around him and his friends, his family. The family that cared for him so deeply, that wanted his company and spent their own time to be with him, to play with redstone or go End Busting.

But he forced his recovery, cutting off the bittersweet thoughts and allowing Mumbo to tug him out of the hole.

Needless to say, they both exited the hollow cavern quickly and messaged Xisuma from above ground with twice the haste. Grian kept glancing down, just waiting for something to emerge. Waiting for something to reach for them.

But after that encounter, the Watchers knew better than to go through the portal protected by their own kind. They’d find another way in, and they would be smarter. They would be stealthier. They wouldn’t be seen until it was too late, and then they’d return with new soon-to-be Watchers and their job would he done.

Then, and only then, would they leave this world forever. Initially Grian had been enough, but after one look at the rest they saw true potential. A wizard? A werewolf, a creeper, and even an elf— that didn’t even include the Ender, their true prize at the moment. Such power, it would be helpful.

But patience was key, so they waited. This had to be perfect, and so far? Everything was going to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why thank you for reading, i very much hope you enjoyed and i will see y’all next chapter, have a good morning/evening/night uwu

**Author's Note:**

> i. have never used ao3 before, so this was a new experience! it’s pretty nice.
> 
> i’m going to keep updating this, so there will probably be at least five chapters but i’m not entirely sure. somewhere around five.
> 
> anyway i hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
